Blair Hands Over Leadership of Labor Party

Monday

Jun 25, 2007 at 4:41 AM

Britain’s transfer of power entered its final countdown on Sunday when the governing Labor Party anointed Gordon Brown as Tony Blair’s successor.

ALAN COWELL

LONDON, June 24 — Long heralded and often rancorous, Britain’s transfer of power from Tony Blair entered its final countdown on Sunday when the governing Labor Party anointed Gordon Brown as his successor. It ended an era in which Mr. Blair fought far-flung wars in the Muslim world, brought peace closer to home in Northern Ireland and struggled to reform public services.

The ceremonial crowning of Mr. Brown as the only candidate in a seven-week contest for the party leadership opens the way for a defining moment in his long rivalry with Mr. Blair, when the two men are to pay separate visits to Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday, Mr. Blair to quit as prime minister and Mr. Brown to take over.

“I am ready, ready to serve,” Mr. Brown declared in a speech to a special Labor conference in Manchester, defining himself as a “conviction politician” driven by values of “duty, honesty, hard work, family and respect for others.”

Those values, he said, “are my moral compass. This is who I am.”

For Mr. Blair the moment was visibly poignant, foreshadowing a life beyond the trappings of power he had acquired in 10 years on the global stage, aligning himself closely with President Bush and leading his land into a war in Iraq that cost him a level of popularity other British politicians might only dream of.

But for Mr. Brown it was a moment of vindication, the culmination of years of dogged maneuvering to force Mr. Blair to redeem a pledge struck several years before Labor secured its landslide victory in 1997.

The rivalry between the men provided a constant subplot in British politics that sometimes took over the entire political arena — their critics called it a soap opera — as Mr. Brown pressed Mr. Blair to commit himself to a departure date.

Yet, Mr. Blair said Sunday that the transition had been orderly, calling his successor “a man with every quality to mark him out as a great prime minister of our country.”

Mr. Blair flew to Manchester on Sunday from Rome, where he had had an audience on Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI after a dizzying round of meetings and valedictory visits to Washington and parts of Africa. Though he has only days left as prime minister he plans to address Parliament until the very last exchange of political vitriol with his political opponents, known as Prime Minister’s Questions, on Wednesday. The visit to Buckingham Palace is supposed to offer the final curtain call.

There have been news reports here and in Washington that Mr. Blair may become a Middle East peace envoy, while his visit to the Vatican revived speculation in British newspapers that he will convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. But he has not publicly disclose his intentions.

While there was no contest for the party leadership, six Labor leaders competed for the post of deputy — a position secured narrowly on Sunday by Harriet Harman, the justice minister. She triumphed by less than one percentage point over Alan Johnson, the education minister, who had been seen as the favorite to win.

Mr. Brown’s rise has provoked forecasts among Conservatives that he will push for a greater redistribution of wealth from the middle classes, which already feel the strain of higher taxes imposed during his 10 years as chancellor of the Exchequer. Indeed, on Sunday, Mr. Brown said, “When the strong help the weak it makes us all stronger.”

He did not go into detail about the future of Britain’s 5,500 troops in southern Iraq — a number set to be further reduced.

Mr. Brown has been seeking to distance himself from the opprobrium attached to Mr. Blair for the entire Iraq campaign, which Mr. Brown described as “a divisive issue for our party and country.”

Mr. Brown pledged to work for greater access to higher education for poor families, broader home ownership for young people squeezed out of Britain’s real estate market and improved health care.

He also sought to strike a balance between continuity with the Blair era — in which he was a major architect of domestic reform — and new departures to distance himself from Mr. Blair’s troubles.

For many years at such gatherings, Mr. Brown has been upstaged by Mr. Blair’s charisma and rhetorical skills, but on Sunday, it was Mr. Blair’s turn to slip away quietly through the crowds.

But the party also gave Mr. Blair a protracted standing ovation during his brief appearance to introduce his rival and offer his endorsement.

“I know from his character that he will give of his best in the service of our country,” Mr. Blair said. “And I know from his record as chancellor that his best is as good as it gets.”

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